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Oldtimer
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Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 24734
Location: Northeast Montana
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 Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2008 8:55 pm Post subject: Some Conservatives Still See Thru the Neocons |
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At least a few conservatives are seeing thru the farcity of GW's bailouts, medicare drug bill, stealing from SS so he doesn't have to raise taxes- and total farce of this GW spend, spend, spend on borrowed money Administrations economic policy....And then Bush the third (McCain) comes out with no tax raises promises  ....
Won't work- going to take a massive overhaul ( and as Beck says) some sacrifice to bring back credibility to our economy and fix the mistakes of GW's 8 years....  
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Glenn Beck: The $53 trillion asteroid
By Glenn Beck
CNN
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Let's say a giant asteroid was headed towards Earth right now and experts say it has a good chance of ending civilization as we know it. Let's also say that we've known about this asteroid for years but even as it gets closer and closer our leaders do nothing.
Glenn Beck: The economic asteroid will first hit America when the Medicare trust fund becomes insolvent in 2019.
"Don't worry," they tell us, "The next administration will figure something out."
With the future of our country at stake, would Americans really sit back and tolerate that kind of inaction? Of course not -- we'd be sharpening our pitchforks and driving directly and demanding answers.
Well there may not be may not be a space asteroid heading toward us, but there is an economic one -- and the threat to our future is just as severe.
You might think that I'm talking about the recession (sorry: potential recession) or credit crisis, but I'm thinking bigger. Much, much bigger.
Let me give you three numbers that will put this economic asteroid into perspective: $200 billion, $14.1 trillion, and $53 trillion.
$200 billion is the approximate total amount of write downs announced so far as a result of the current credit crisis.
$14.1 trillion is the size of the entire U.S. economy
And $53 trillion is (drum roll please) the approximate size of this country's bill for the Social Security and Medicare promises we've made.
While no one will ever mistake me for Alan Greenspan, it seems me that the third number is quite a bit larger than the other two. It also seems to be that very few people care.
According to the latest Trustee's report (and I use that term loosely since it has the word "trust" in it) released earlier this week, the economic asteroid will first make impact in the year 2019 when the Medicare trust fund becomes insolvent.
Only an immediate 122% increase in Medicare taxes and a 26% increase in Social Security taxes can prevent (or more likely, delay) its impact.
Realizing that Americans have become pretty much numb to these kinds of ridiculous sounding proposals, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson tried to up the ante this week. "Without change," he said, "Rising costs will drive government spending to unprecedented levels, consume nearly all projected federal revenues, and threaten America's future prosperity."
Now, I know we're all worried about important sounding things that none of us understand, like CDO's, SIV's, and Credit Default Swaps, but did you hear what our Treasury Secretary just said?
"Rising costs will ... consume nearly all projected federal revenues ..."
Translation: every single tax dollar that is sent to Washington will be used to pay for just these two programs.
That means no money is left for anything else. Nothing. No Department of Defense or Homeland Security, no Department of Energy, no Department of Justice, no Environmental Protection Agency, no Internal Revenue Service. Actually, knowing our government they'd probably keep the IRS going somehow.
Of course, none of this is exactly breaking news. Our leaders have known about this rapidly approaching asteroid for years now and they've done nothing but debate it. At the same time, I'm a realist. I understand that this stuff is "the third rail of politics," but our leaders' negligence on this issue is damn near criminal. No, correction, it is criminal.
Americans aren't afraid of the truth. In fact, we crave the truth only slight more than we crave a leader who will actually give it to us. But part of the problem with this issue is that numbers followed by twelve zeroes aren't very relatable to the average American. Instead, try this on for size.
A million seconds is 12 days. A billion seconds is 32 years. A trillion seconds is 32,000 years. And 53 trillion seconds? 1.7 million years.
In an article that will appear in an upcoming issue of my magazine, Fusion, former Comptroller General of the United States David Walker tries a different tactic. He writes that our unfunded promises translate into "an IOU of around $455,000 per American household."
Wow. Does the size of our debt hit home now?
The America that I know doesn't sit around waiting for someone to rescue it from disaster. Besides, who do we expect to swoop in and save the day? Congress? The President? Please -- they're not only the ones who put the asteroid into space, they've been making it bigger with irresponsible spending on everything from prescription drugs to billions in rebate checks and bail outs.
Bruce Willis and Tommy Lee Jones? They're more likely to be on social security than to save it.
And that leaves only us: We the People. Like every other crisis we face, it's up to us to save ourselves.
But how?
Be honest, no matter what side of the political aisle you're on, it's obvious that our financial deficit is dwarfed only by the deficit of trust we have in our leaders.
I'm willing to do the right thing for our future, I'm willing to sacrifice, but not when I believe that our leaders will do nothing but make the asteroid even larger. |
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MoGal
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Joined: 14 Dec 2005
Posts: 952
Location: SE MO
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| Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:09 am Post subject: |
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Well, and why are all the IOU's in there?? They've used Social Security as their general revenue fund and that's not right......
Notice how all the bubblevision news, "the baby boomers are taking all the social security, there will be nothing left for those working now"............. its enough to make one wonder if they are suggesting we start killing off the baby boomers......... I'm one of those baby boomers and I've paid into Social Security and yes my employer paid into Social Security and by golly's it had better be there and no it had better not be reduced in half either.
If anything, they need to start giving COLA's according to the REAL inflation rate of food, utilities and medicine.
They know they didn't do Medicare Part D correctly and why is that?? Corporate lobbyists gave millions of dollars to buy out congressional votes.
Put the blame where it belongs, corporate lobbyists buying out congress and congress agreeing to put social security funds in general revenue. That's why congress needs to go under social security as well and lets reduce their retirement program just like they do other federal government employees.
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Sandhusker
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Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 18244
Location: Nebraska
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| Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 6:46 am Post subject: |
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| One of the few good ideas that W has was the partial privatization of social secuirty. He should of gone farther and allowed the 100% option. However, Democrats always know how to spend your money and now save your money better than individuals do, so that never happened. I've paid into the system 20 years and I would be more than happy to release any claim that I have to those funds if I could be allowed to completly opt out of the program now. But nooooo, I can't be trusted with my own money.....
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Red Robin
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Joined: 23 Apr 2005
Posts: 4386
Location: 8 mi S.E. of Harrison, Ar.
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cutterone
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Joined: 10 May 2006
Posts: 402
Location: Frankfort, Indiana
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| Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 7:28 am Post subject: |
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Last time I checked I don't think GB signs the checks. If you want to lay blame on much or all of this start with congress. They make the laws and spend the $ !! BOTH PARTIES.
We have 3 contenders running for office - all 3 are in congress now and I haven't seen all this promised "change", making things right and solvent on their watch. Just what's going to change as long as congress isn't held accountable? OT could be president and it wouldn't change as long as congressional idiots rule.
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TSR
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 1761
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| Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 7:41 am Post subject: |
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| Sandhusker wrote: |
| One of the few good ideas that W has was the partial privatization of social secuirty. He should of gone farther and allowed the 100% option. However, Democrats always know how to spend your money and now save your money better than individuals do, so that never happened. I've paid into the system 20 years and I would be more than happy to release any claim that I have to those funds if I could be allowed to completly opt out of the program now. But nooooo, I can't be trusted with my own money..... |
Sandhusker as I recall when Dubya tried this privatization thing the Republicans were in control of Congress. Not that i think a great deal of either party-I would like to see most all of Congress gone with new faces. But with the way the corporations are running this country I could not have trusted a gov't led privatization policy.
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Sandhusker
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Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 18244
Location: Nebraska
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| Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 8:27 am Post subject: |
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| TSR wrote: |
| Sandhusker wrote: |
| One of the few good ideas that W has was the partial privatization of social secuirty. He should of gone farther and allowed the 100% option. However, Democrats always know how to spend your money and now save your money better than individuals do, so that never happened. I've paid into the system 20 years and I would be more than happy to release any claim that I have to those funds if I could be allowed to completly opt out of the program now. But nooooo, I can't be trusted with my own money..... |
Sandhusker as I recall when Dubya tried this privatization thing the Republicans were in control of Congress. Not that i think a great deal of either party-I would like to see most all of Congress gone with new faces. But with the way the corporations are running this country I could not have trusted a gov't led privatization policy. |
Then just let me out. Keep my money, let me out. The return on your money in the Soc. Sec. program is something like 1.5%. Considering the long-term inflation rate of 3.5%, that means I'm losing 2% in that program. That is a good deal?
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kolanuraven
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Joined: 27 Jul 2005
Posts: 9981
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| Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 9:59 am Post subject: |
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| Sandhusker wrote: |
| TSR wrote: |
| Sandhusker wrote: |
| One of the few good ideas that W has was the partial privatization of social secuirty. He should of gone farther and allowed the 100% option. However, Democrats always know how to spend your money and now save your money better than individuals do, so that never happened. I've paid into the system 20 years and I would be more than happy to release any claim that I have to those funds if I could be allowed to completly opt out of the program now. But nooooo, I can't be trusted with my own money..... |
Sandhusker as I recall when Dubya tried this privatization thing the Republicans were in control of Congress. Not that i think a great deal of either party-I would like to see most all of Congress gone with new faces. But with the way the corporations are running this country I could not have trusted a gov't led privatization policy. |
Then just let me out. Keep my money, let me out. The return on your money in the Soc. Sec. program is something like 1.5%. Considering the long-term inflation rate of 3.5%, that means I'm losing 2% in that program. That is a good deal? |
Go to town....open your own acct for health/retirement and make your deposits and quit waiting for the gov't to change the system.
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Mike
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Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 16951
Location: Montgomery, Al
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Sandhusker
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Joined: 10 Feb 2005
Posts: 18244
Location: Nebraska
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| Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 12:13 pm Post subject: |
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Exactly, Mike. I'm putting away 7% and making 10% on that. Accounting for inflation, that is increasing my future purchasing power 6.5% a year. I have to put about that same amount into SSI so I can lose 2% because the liberals have to have government save me from myself.
If I could be in charge of all my retirement, which one would assume would be MY responsibility anyway, I could double what I'm managing, make a hell of a lot more money (that will be subject to income tax when I pull it out) and would be in better shape to meet my own needs in the future and not be a possible candidate for a drain on the country like energy assitance, subsidized meals, etc... that many of our poor elderly rely on because their SSI is so small (partly because of crappy returns)!
After listening to how your "visionary" Obama-Llama is going to bail out mortgages, give everybody health insurance, feed the poor, etc.... I doubt if I'll be able to fund my own IRA because that moron hasn't envisioned that the taxpayer is going to have to foot the bill for all his socialist programs - which will make me more of a burden on government in my "golden" years. One hell of a visionary you've got there.....
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fff
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Joined: 04 Feb 2008
Posts: 1721
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| Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 1:13 pm Post subject: Re: Some Conservatives Still See Thru the Neocons |
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| Oldtimer wrote: |
At least a few conservatives are seeing thru the farcity of GW's bailouts, medicare drug bill, stealing from SS so he doesn't have to raise taxes- and total farce of this GW spend, spend, spend on borrowed money Administrations economic policy....And then Bush the third (McCain) comes out with no tax raises promises ....
Won't work- going to take a massive overhaul ( and as Beck says) some sacrifice to bring back credibility to our economy and fix the mistakes of GW's 8 years....
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I was thinking about what a disaster Bush has been for this country this morning. Things that used to work: FEMA, the EPA, Medicare, the Fed, our justice system, mining safety, our military, to name a few, don't work now. The list goes on and on and the problems are based on two things. Bush's belief that government is bad and human greed. Many of his appointees are in departments that they don't think should even exist! Margaret Spellings, Bush's Sec of Education, is outspoken in her belief that vouchers should replace public schools, even though her own agency has test results showing public schools are as effective as private schools funded by vouchers. A HUD secretary has said he won't give contracts to anyone who didn't support Republicans in the last election. Alberto turned Justice Department into a political wing of the Republican party. Who would have ever thought that John Ashcroft would be held up as a shining example of what an AJ would be? Retired General (and Bush apologist) Richard Myers' daughter runs ICE. She was such a poor nominee, that Bush couldn't even get her approved by the Republican Congress!
And the Fed has opened our central financial vein to financial bloodsuckers who are about to go bankrupt on Wall Street. We know those guys are either incompetent or crooks, depending on how you want to spin it, yet they are virtually free to draw on our country's financial reserves at will!
It's truly mind boggling and I don't see that anything will get better for years. Bush certainly isn't going to change his ways at this late date. Any laws Congress may make about the Fed have to get through Bush's veto and then his AG has to enforce them. That's not going to happen. Congress can't bring the troops home from Iraq. That's the Commander In Chief's responsibility. So we'll keep pouring money down the drain there. Very depressing all around.
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Red Robin
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Joined: 23 Apr 2005
Posts: 4386
Location: 8 mi S.E. of Harrison, Ar.
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| Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2008 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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| FF that's the biggest bunch of lies I've ever seen you post.
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